Term paper on Bay of Pigs Invasion (1961)

Dismayed by Fidel Castro’s confiscation of the property of American businesses, his trade agreement with the Soviet Union, and his repressive measures, President Eisenhower in 1960 ordered the CIA to undermine his regime. Newly elected President Kennedy approved the CIA plan but without American airpower to protect the invading force of 1,400 anti-Castro Cubans. The latter landed at the Bay of Pigs on April 17, 1961, but without air support and the expected uprising of the Cuban people, the invasion failed dismally. Fewer than 10 percent of the invaders escaped death or capture. The episode proved a severe embarrassment to President Kennedy and the United States.
Suggestions for Term Papers
1. Discuss why the relationship between the United States and Cuba deteriorated.
2. Analyze President Kennedy’s decision to order the invasion.
3. Was the invasion doomed to fail?
4. Discuss the effects of the invasion on America’s image in the world.
5. Discuss the CIA attempts to assassinate Castro.

Suggested Sources: See entry 69 for related items.

REFERENCE SOURCES

Encyclopedia of the American Military: Studies of the History, Policies, Institutions and Roles of the Armed Forces in War and Peace. John E. Jessup and Louise B. Ketz, eds. 3 vols. New York: Scribner’s Sons, 1994. Detailed, general-purpose encyclopedia for the study of the American military divided into four parts; part 4 examines the military performance from the colonial period to post-Vietnam.

Encyclopedia of U.S. Foreign Relations. Bruce W. Jentleson and Thomas G. Paterson. 4 vols. New York: Oxford University Press, 1997. Comprehensive reference work on U.S. foreign relations; over a thousand articles ranging from 150 to 10,000 words. Provides background on the Cuban situation.

A Guide to Cuban Collections in the United States. Louis A. Perez. Westport, CT: Greenwood, 1991. State-by-state guide to archival resources on collections relating to Cuba; 520 entries indexed by collection and subject.

GENERAL SOURCES

Dickstein, Morris. Gates of Eden: American Culture in the Sixties. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1997. Interesting examination of the links between culture and politics in the 1960s; analysis of successes and failures, including U.S.-Soviet-Cuban relations. Drachman, Edward R., et al. Presidents and Foreign Policy: Countdown to Ten Controversial Decisions. Albany: State University of New York Press, 1997. Interesting case studies of the background and circumstances regarding ten important presidential decisions, including Kennedy’s decision to support the Bay of Pigs invasion.

Paterson, Thomas G. Contesting Castro: The United States and the Triumph of the Cuban Revolution. New York: Oxford University Press, 1995. A thorough and detailed examination of U.S. foreign relations from the 1950s; sees the United States as ignorant and arrogant in dealing with various situations.

Perez, Louis A. Essays on Cuban History: Historiography and Research. Gainesville: University of Florida Press, 1995. Collection of essays examining the history and politics of Cuba; includes examination of U.S.-Cuban relations and the effects of the Cuban revolution.

SPECIALIZED SOURCES

Bissell, Richard M., Jr., et al. Reflections of a Cold Warrior: From Yalta to the Bay of Pigs. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1996. The now-deceased lead author had served as head of the CIA Covert Operations; his failure to assess the Bay of Pigs operation halted his career rise.

Higgins, Trumbull. The Perfect Failure: Kennedy, Eisenhower, and the CIA at the Bay of Pigs. New York: Norton, 1987. Examines the blunders that accompanied the Bay of Pigs invasion.

Lynch, Grayston L. Decision for Disaster: Betrayal at the Bay of Pigs. Washington, DC: Brassey’s, 1998. Recent examination of the incident; seen from the perspective of the Cuban participants.

Persons, Albert C. Bay of Pigs: A Firsthand Account of the Mission by a U.S. Pilot in Support of the Cuban Invasion Force in 1961. Jefferson, NC: McFarland, 1990. Primary source of the action; good summary of political scene.

BIOGRAPHICAL SOURCES

Giglio, James N. The Presidency of John F. Kennedy. Lawrence, University of Kansas Press, 1991. Balanced examination of Kennedy’s presidency that faults him for his unproductive relations with Congress but not for his decisions on the Bay of Pigs or Cuban missile crisis.

Salinger, Pierre D. John F. Kennedy, Commander in Chief: A Profile in Leadership. New York: Penguin, 1997. Firsthand account of Kennedy’s relationship with the military—from the Bay of Pigs through Laos, the Cuban missile crisis, and the space program. AUDIOVISUAL SOURCES
Bay of Pigs. New York: Cinema Guild, 1973. Videocassette. 103-minute documentary of invasion; includes actual documentary footage and reenactments.
WORLD WIDE WEB
Elliston, Jon. ‘‘The Bay of Pigs Invasion.’’ ParaScope, Inc. (1996). http://www.parascope.com/articles/1296/bayofpigs.htm Special report provides historical overview of the invasion and the events leading up to it, as well as sources and documents.